


Worth the Effort

by antigrav_vector



Series: CapIM bingo fills - 2015 [4]
Category: Avengers (Comics), Captain America (Comics), Iron Man (Comic)
Genre: Cap-Ironman Bingo, Domestic, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Fluff and Mush, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Silver Age, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 09:55:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5781424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antigrav_vector/pseuds/antigrav_vector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short follow-up to the telepathy fill. Set in Silver Age 616, in this little flufflet everything is still beautiful and nothing hurts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worth the Effort

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to [Rolling with the Punches](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5688340), and a fill for the 'domesticity' square on my bingo card.
> 
> Unbeta'ed, so please forgive any errors.

_Tony,_ Steve whispered.

Stretching without getting out of the bed or even bothering to untangle himself from the blankets, Tony sent back the equivalent of a yawn.

It had been just under a week since they'd fought the mantis-shrimp-creature, and the telepathy was showing no signs of disappearing. If anything it was strengthening, the more they used it.

Tony wasn't sure how he felt about that, but since Dr. Strange had taken one look at them and smirked in that smugly superior way he had, declaring that it was about time. After Steve had insisted that he try to undo the telepathy, it had come out that this wasn't a spell or even anything unnaturally imposed on them. Whatever the creature had done, Antman had told them later, it had done in an attempt to talk to them.

Only problem was, it didn't work the same way in humans as in... whatever species the thing was. Apparently among most aquatic species, the telepathy effects faded after a day or two unless they were renewed. And so here they were, facing down the possibility that the telepathy might be permanent.

It was interesting, though, how despite the way they'd more or less understood each other without needing words before, now there was an extra level of detail, anytime they wanted it. Tony kind of reveled in that, sometimes. It was just _so nice_ to be understood the way Steve understood him, and still be loved as intensely. They hadn't needed more than that first kiss they'd shared to figure that part out. Tony still wasn't sure which one of them had let it slip first, but it had turned into something of a basic truth of the universe after that. Rather like the Gravitational Constant.

 _Tony,_ Steve insisted, sounding fondly amused, _stop thinking about complicated things. You need to come eat something before Thor finishes everything._

 _Is there coffee,_ Tony asked, very tempted to suggest Steve bring him breakfast in bed, so he could come up with an excuse to debauch him.

Steve replied with a snort. _Come. Here._

Standing with a petulant sigh, Tony groped in his dresser for something to wear without bothering to open his eyes, and pulled on the first tshirt that met his hands. Once he had it settled over his shoulders, he grabbed for a pair of jeans and repeated the procedure.

Dressed, he stumbled out of his bedroom stifling a physical yawn, and tried to mentally prepare himself for the chaos he knew would hit him the moment he entered the dining room. He could hear Thor's booming laughter already.

 _Come get your coffee and help me with the last few pancakes,_ Steve suggested.

"Tony," Thor greeted him, almost at the same time, grinning broadly. "How fare you this morn?"

Jan, sitting next to him, giggled. "Leave him alone until he's had his caffeine, Thor. You'll never get a coherent answer out of him otherwise. Just look at him. He couldn't even find his own t-shirt this morning. That's one of Steve's."

Oh. So it was. Oh well. It smelled like Steve. Worth the teasing. And also the effort of putting on clothes, in retrospect.

"I'm not so sure," Hank disagreed, laughter clear in his voice. "Maybe on a calm morning like this, that'd be true, but have you ever seen him on the days a call hauls us out of bed?"

Thor nodded. "'Tis true," he said, "our Man of Iron is a most wily warrior, even when denied his morning beverage."

Shaking his head, Tony turned toward the kitchen without saying a word. He did toss a vague wave over his shoulder, though.

Steve turned when he walked in, and smiled. "There you are. I was beginning to wonder."

Tony huffed, shuffling over, and stepped up behind Steve to rest his forehead on the nape of his boyfriend's neck. His arms slid around Steve's waist, and he couldn't help the way he smiled, now, too. "The team is in a good mood."

"So are you," Steve replied. "I can tell."

"Well," Tony said, tucking his nose into the back of Steve's collar, "I have a reason to be. Even if you are being all domestic."

Definitely worth the effort.


End file.
